Ten Years To the Day
by The Blind Apprentice
Summary: What if it was not Balthazar who spent ten years in the urn?  Not sure if this qualifies as a one-shot or not.  Hope you all enjoy.


Ten Years- To the Day

By The Blind Apprentice

Summary: Dave gets sucked into the urn, Balthazar takes care of Horvath. Problems galore!

"_Do not move, do not touch anything."_ Words that will forever haunt my memories.

{-}

As I jumped through the flames and landed atop Horvath I merely intended to lock him in the Emperor's urn for ten years, get Dave trained, and then deal with Horvath. What actually happened rivals things only heard of in nightmares.

I told Dave to leave, but Horvath grabbed him and shoved him in the path of the urn, and unfortunately, the doll was left outside the urn.

The battle that followed was fueled even more by my outrage that Horvath had thrown the Prime Merlinian into prison for the next ten years to the day. To avenge my almost-apprentice, was now my task. To rid the world of Maxim Horvath was now my duty.

Horvath however would prove to be much more difficult. Just before I could land the final blow, he escaped… but thankfully not with the Grim hold.

Once the adrenalin from the fight began to ebb, the reality of what just happened dawned on me. David Stehtler, age 10, a child who had been on a school field trip in New York City was now missing, and judging by the teacher and the group of students looking franticly down the street, Dave was missed. There were going to be lots of questions.

I walked out of the shop just as the class was passing. The teacher spun around and frantically asked me, "Have you seen a little boy?"

I thought of placing the blame on Horvath, but that could get people killed. Perhaps I should capture Horvath and implicate him in the disappearance of Dave. Yes that was what I would do. First step, escape the questions.

I shook my head at the teacher, "No ma'am, I'm sorry. I haven't seen any children come down this way, but I've been doing paperwork, it is possible. I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

She looked almost close to panicking as she walked swiftly away and asked me to keep an eye out.

{-}

I caught up with Horvath a few days later. In the intervening time, I had given a vague description of Horvath to the authorities who swarmed the street a few minutes after the frantic teacher and I had spoken.

In the intervening weeks, there were pictures of Dave on every news station, all the shops in my alley were encouraged to put up missing photos, and a reward was offered for any information pertaining to Dave's ware bouts.

(-)

_Local school boy goes missing on a field trip to the big apple… _

_Missing schoolboy, still no traces. Is Dave dead or just kidnapped…_

_Candlelight vigil held in the last place David Stehtler was seen…_

_After a week of frantic searching, authorities change from a search and rescue to a rescue and recovery…_

(-)

"Horvath!"

He spun and looked in my direction. "That wasn't very nice Balthazar, to give the police my name and description. You have no idea how much I liked that coat. And to implicate that I had done something to poor David, tut tut Balthazar. Perhaps I should send them your photo as well and implicate you, eh? A bit of tit for tat as they say?"

"Personally, I prefer the scenario where you go to jail, never to be released."

"Well, we don't always get what we wish for, now do we."

The battle was hard fought, with Horvath pulling all the old tricks. In the end however, I stripped him of his staff and set it ablaze. Horvath was lying on his back panting up at me while I had my ring poised to deliver some spell presumably, he thought it would be a dark spell.

"Luckily for you, I'm not a dark man, but there are some spells that some would consider being a bit questionable. You, my friend, are finished. I've thought long and hard about this. What am I going to do with you? Should I imprison you back in the grim hold, or should I let Dave's grieving family have you. Because you and I both know, a ten year old boy coming back ten years later and not looking a day older is going to be hard to explain. So, perhaps it's better for the family to think he's dead, and have you to be the one responsible."

"But, you wouldn't do something like that to an old friend, now would you Balthazar?"

"You obviously don't know me as well as you think you do, Maxim."

At that moment, Horvath showed an emotion I hadn't seen in his eyes since we were young apprentices, Horvath was afraid.

I looked deep into his eyes and thought long and hard about what I was going to do. Without his magic, Horvath was no longer a threat, at least in the magical sense. He could, however, give a lot of information to a lot of people that wouldn't take that information as easily as a ten-year-old would. I had no choice, magical or no, Horvath would go back in the grim hold, and David's family would have to grieve without ever finding out what happened to their son.

"Horvath, you are right, I wouldn't do exactly that. You know too much." Before he could even blink, I had the grim hold available and he was once more trapped inside it. Now the question remained, now that I've found my apprentice, what am I going to do for the next ten years?

_The next ten years in brief_

_As we all know, the events of 9/11 transpired as they did. Balthazar was unfortunately out of the country on that fateful day and was unable to stop it. _

_The time that Dave was gone, Balthazar spent in preparation. He was there when after two years, Dave's family had a memorial service for the boy. Gifts from his friends were buried in a casket with a headstone bearing his name and the date that he went missing as the date of his death. _

_Dave's mother got re-married and had another child, also a boy. They gave him the middle name of David. He wasn't at all interested in Physics. He was more of an artistic child. _

_Balthazar was once again traveling the world. This time, not to find an apprentice, but to learn new spells from different masters. He even resettled, moving the Arcanna Cabana to different places. He finally settled in the antique district of London. He thought it fitting to return to his Master's homeland, and the land where he originally began his training. He thought it an appropriate place to raise Dave. _

Ten Years- To the Day:

_Balthazar wasn't unaware of the date. He wasn't sure of the time Dave would appear from the urn, but he made sure he was going to be there when he finally emerged. _

_About 9am that morning, the urn began to rock side to side. Balthazar knew it was only a matter of time. At 4:15 in the afternoon, the lid flew off of the urn and a wisp of ashes began to coalesce into a human form. _

_A boy, just as Balthazar remembered him, was facing away from the Sorcerer, so when he put his hand on Dave's shoulder, the boy startled badly. _

"_Easy now, Dave, it's all right."_

_The boy spun on him Balthazar seeing tear tracks running down his face. The boy was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Balthazar thought it prudent to give the boy some respite, so he put the boy to sleep magically. _

_Balthazar was nothing, if not prepared. Over the past ten years, he had acquired a new identity for Dave. He gave him his own surname. He thought it would be easier for everyone concerned were he to have a new identity. His name was now Andrew David Blake. Andrew was his father's name, and he kept David so that when he called him Dave, it would not seem strange. _

_Balthazar carried him to his new room that was in the quarters above the store. The training with the Merlin Circle would take place in a room that was magically attached to the store. He had it already arranged for Dave to begin school in a few weeks. The British school system was different from the American system and he didn't want to draw attention to Dave so he enrolled him in year three in the primary school, but had discussed with his principal that due to his just adopting him and his prior schooling having taken place in America, he wasn't sure where Dave would fit. So the school was going to give him some examinations to determine which grade level would be adequate. _

_All of the particulars out of the way, all he had to do was the most difficult part, console a confused and upset child. This for the next few weeks would be his primary task…_

_[-]_

_Dave awoke the next morning to a strange place. Gone was tank, his beloved bull dog, and gone was his Buzz Lightyear alarm clock. Instead he found himself in a room that looked like it may be the attic, the ceiling was slanted above his bed, but he had clouds on it. He sat up and looked around. The room was a good size, it had a desk that was facing the window, a dresser-like thing on one wall, an open door that looked like it went to a hallway, another door that went somewhere else, and a very familiar man sitting in a comfy –looking armchair with a blue afghan draped across his knees. _

_Balthazar hadn't noticed him awake yet because he was sleeping with his head back on the back of the chair, and a book was open on his lap. Dave had no idea where he was, only that he had been sucked into the urn._

_This caused Dave to gasp out loud which woke Balthazar. Rather than startling awake, he breathed in deeply then slowly lifted his head as to not startle Dave. _

_He looked to the bed, the boy looked terrified. Balthazar thought it would be prudent to stay where he was and let Dave make the moves. _

_Dave looked as if he were going to speak but no words came out when he opened his mouth to do so. _

"_Before you ask any questions, would you like some water?"_

_Dave must have not considered his thirst, but he nodded. After drinking a few gulps of water he spoke, "W- where am I?"_

"_A question that you should also think about would be 'when am I?'"_

_Dave blinked. "When am I?"_

"_It's all right Dave. I know you are very upset right now, and very afraid. I'm sure there are many questions buzzing around in that head of yours. First of all. The year is 2010. You didn't get any older because the urn won't let you. It just takes away ten years of your life. That's why it's a horrible prison. I'm also going to tell you, you are not in New York City anymore. You aren't even in America, you are in England."_

"_W- what?"_

"_I thought that it would be problematic and a bit confusing if you were to show up ten years later on your mother's doorstep and didn't look any older. That might be difficult to explain, don't you think?"_

_Dave nodded._

"_So my mom?"_

"_She thinks you were kidnapped, and that you died."_

_Dave didn't seem to understand just yet, but still had more questions._

"_So, what's going to happen to me now?"_

_Balthazar sighed. "Before we get into the particulars, are you hungry, do you need to use the bathroom?"_

_Dave nodded. _

"_All right then, the bathroom is there, (the closed doorway). In there you'll find everything you need. This, (the dresser-like thing), is what the British call a wardrobe. It's got a place for hanging clothes, but also drawers for putting other clothes in as well. I've got everything you need, shoes, socks, underwear, school uniforms, and everyday clothes too. Put on whatever you like. For the next few weeks, I'm going to be helping you to get used to the new situation, all right?"_

_All Dave could do was nod. _

"_I'm going to make us some breakfast. It's to the left, you can't miss it. I promise, I'll answer all your questions, just not yet, ok?"_

_Dave nodded once more and headed to the bathroom. Balthazar headed to make breakfast._

_[-]_

_After breakfast that morning, Balthazar and Dave spent many hours exploring the quarters, store, and some of the nearby surroundings. They talked about some of what Dave had missed, but only the important things that would cause him confusion. Cell phones had been a relatively un-common thing in early 2000, but children as young as Dave now had them, so that was one of their lessons, teaching Dave to use a cell phone. Balthazar had his cell as well as the store's number in Dave's phone. _

_There eventually the discussion of what happened on 9/11 and how his mother had moved on with a new husband and another child- with one on the way would need to happen._

_But for now, Dave would go to school._

_Balthazar would slowly introduce him to magic and what it meant to be the Prime Merlinian._


End file.
